Hello all,
I bought the e book and found it very helpful but I am not sure about a couple of things.
I lost my wife in 2010 she was 59 I was 55 now 62. I have contacted social security and found out that she would get about $20 more than me at FRA. I am working and could overtake that number by the time I reach FRA; will SS allow me to collect widowers benefit on her SS if hers is less than mine? and let mine grow to age 70 or do I have to take the higher one at that time.
The other thing is that I am from the UK and qualify for a state pension that I can top up. Should I buy top up national insurance contributions at about $1,000 per year for $275 per year return for the rest of my life or will it be reduced by social security through GPO or WEP making it not worthwhile. I will have over 30years of US work and social security contributions at FRA and 17 years of work in the UK that I can add about 10 years to.

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

You could potentially file just for reduced widower's benefits now and allow your own benefit rate to grow until age 70. Assuming that your own benefit rate is higher than your widower's rate at that time, your widower's benefits would stop when you start drawing on your own record. Or, you could file for reduced retirement benefits now and then file for unreduced widower's benefits at full retirement age (FRA). You can essentially only receive the higher of the 2 benefit rates at the same time, not both.

Your best strategy depends on your relative benefit rates and how much you are earning. The Social Security earnings test (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking2.html) could limit or prevent you from being able to receive either type of benefit prior to FRA.

It sounds like your situation is also complicated by your eligibility for a UK pension. A UK pension would not affect your widower's benefits, since foreign pensions aren't considered as government pensions for purposes of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf). However, your own retirement benefit rate may be lowered due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) if you receive a UK pension. But, if you have at least 30 years of 'substantial earnings' in the U.S., you may be exempt from a WEP reduction. For more information on WEP and 'substantial earnings', refer to this Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.

I don't know enough about the UK pension system to be able to advise you with regard to your question about making voluntary contributions. However, the maximization software available on this website is programmed to handle earnings test considerations as well as the WEP and GPO provisions. You should strongly consider using it in order to sort out your options and determine your best overall strategy.

Best, Jerry